December 2011

2011 has earned its reputation as a record-breaker at Easterwood Airport. However, December 2011 fell short of that reputation because there were only two broken records: lowest maximum temperature of 39 on the 6th & lowest minimum temperature of 26 that following night. A very strong arctic trough dipped down into Texas early in the month, and the cold front passed on the 5th. The extremely cold temperatures followed the cold front and gave College Station its first freeze of the 2011-2012 winter. However, temperatures did not take long to warm up to the 70s a few days later. With each cold front, relief showed up in the form of rain and College Station observed above normal rainfall for the month. On the 21st-22nd , 1.20” of precipitation was measured along the passage of a cold front. College Station benefitted from the rain during December and the cooler temperatures indicated the onset of winter.

Daily Temperature

Daily Precipitation

Monthly Temperature Summary

Day

Maximum

Minimum

*Departure

Total

Mean

Value

*Departure

1

72°F

41°F

+2°F

Maximum

61.8°F

‑1.0°F

2

73°F

59°F

+11°F

T

Minimum

44.1°F

+2.6°F

3

75°F

60°F

+12°F

T

Average

52.9°F

+0.7°F

4

68°F

46°F

+2°F

0.36"

Degree Days

Total

*Departure

5

48°F

38°F

‑11°F

0.09"

Heating

376

‑37

6

39°F

33°F

‑18°F

T

Cooling

9

‑5

7

49°F

26°F

‑16°F

Numberof Days:

Total

*Departure

8

57°F

30°F

‑10°F

Maximum ≥ 90°F

0

0

9

63°F

41°F

‑1°F

Maximum ≤ 32°F

0

0

10

59°F

46°F

0°F

Minimum ≤ 32°F

3

‑5

11

57°F

42°F

‑4°F

12

64°F

47°F

+2°F

Monthly Precipitation Summary

13

70°F

52°F

+9°F

T

Precipitation

Value

*Departure

14

77°F

63°F

+18°F

0.02"

Monthly Total

3.73"

+0.50"

15

76°F

53°F

+12°F

0.14"

Year-to-date Total

19.99"

‑19.68"

16

54°F

48°F

‑1°F

0.53"

Days ≥ 0.01"

12

+4

17

62°F

46°F

+2°F

18

65°F

50°F

+6°F

Monthly Extremes

19

70°F

54°F

+11°F

0.12"

Extreme

Value

Date(s)

20

65°F

46°F

+4°F

0.06"

Highest Temperature

77°F

14th

21

54°F

43°F

‑2°F

0.07"

Lowest Temperature

26°F

7th

22

63°F

45°F

+3°F

1.13"

Max. 24-hour Precip.

1.20"

21st-22nd

23

48°F

44°F

‑5°F

Maximum Wind Gust

35 mph

3rd

24

48°F

43°F

‑6°F

0.85"

25

46°F

43°F

‑6°F

0.01"

Record Book for December

26

52°F

36°F

‑7°F

0.05"

Highest Temperature

89°F

1922

27

62°F

32°F

‑3°F

Lowest Temperature

2°F

1989

28

65°F

34°F

0°F

Highest Minimum

74°F

1982

29

65°F

39°F

+2°F

Lowest Maximum

23°F

1990

30

73°F

43°F

+8°F

Wettest Month

12.66"

1913

31

76°F

44°F

+10°F

Driest Month

0.10"

1950

Wettest 24 Hours

7.54"

1913

"T" indicates daily precipitation ≤ 0.005".BOLDFACE indicates an extreme daily value for the month.ITALICS indicates a daily record was set or tied.
*Departure from the 1971‑2000 normal.

*New Records Set

Day

Parameter

Value

Old Record

Year

No new records were set or tied in December 2011.

*Near Records

Day

Parameter

Value

Record

Year

6th

2nd lowest maximum temperature

39°F

40°F

1972

7th

4th lowest minimum temperature

26°F

16°F

1950

*NOTE: Records from 1910 through July 1951 are based on observations taken at the Texas AgriculturalExperiment Station main farm located 7 miles SW of College Station. Records from August 1951 throughthe present are based on observations taken at Easterwood Field.